KACHIN STATE, Myanmar – On Wednesday, an avalanche of mud and rubble crashed through Hpakant’s garbage dump, burying workers beneath the rubble.
Hpakant is the epicenter of the country’s shady jade trade, attracting unskilled laborers from all across the country searching for jewels for shipment to China.
“It is so difficult to estimate how many were missing, but we estimate at least 50 missing, and they